page_title: Częstochowa
section_title: Prominent tourist destinations
hierarchical_section_title: Częstochowa / Tourism / Prominent tourist destinations
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Dom Adolfa Frankego w Częstochowie.
context_page_description: Częstochowa is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 220,433 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of the Częstochowa Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not of Silesia, and before 1795, it belonged to the Kraków Voivodeship. Częstochowa is located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. It is the 13th most populous city in Poland. It is the largest economic, cultural and administrative hub in the northern part of the Silesian Voivodeship.
  The city is known for the famous Pauline monastery of Jasna Góra, which is the home of the Black Madonna painting, a shrine to the Virgin Mary. Every year, millions of pilgrims from all over the world come to Częstochowa to see it. The city also was home to the Frankism movement in the late 18th and the 19th century.
  The city has undertaken excavation of an ancient site of Lusatian culture, and has a museum devoted to this. The ruins of a medieval castle stand in Olsztyn, approximately 25 kilometres from the city centre.
context_section_description: The main representative artery in the city centre is the Najświętszej Maryi Panny Avenue (The Holy Virgin Mary Avenue). It was first built in the beginning of the 19th century, as a road linking Częstochowa with New Częstochowa, cities which were administratively merged in 1826. The most characteristic feature of the avenue is its layout, whereby the lanes are separated by the pedestrianised boulevard. During the pilgrimage period, the Avenues are used by pilgrims heading for Jasna Góra Monastery. The avenues are 1.5 km long and 44 m wide; primarily they perform trade, service, financial and cultural functions. The housing consists mostly of classicist, late-classicist houses, rarely eclectic. More modern buildings can also be noticed. The most interesting townhouses include:
  Franke's House – in the beginning, it belonged to Adolf Franke, a Lutheran hailing from Greater Poland and also an owner of a spinning mill and textile mill. It was being built between 1901 and 1903. Between 1918 and 1939, Hotel 'Victoria' was located there. During World War II, it lay on the border of the Jewish ghetto, which made it the key point for those wanting to escape. After the dismantling of the ghetto, the Franke's House housed German hospital and army hotel, and after the war, it was the seat of the High School of Arts and a bursary. Eclectic with prevailing neo-renaissance features.
  Zapalkiewicz's House is classicist townhouse, built in 1871. It was the seat of a theatre, which was functioning until 1908. Later, until 1923, there was a cinema "Paryskie" and subsequently, a number of financial institution have had their branches in the building.
  Mercantile Townhouse – eclectic townhouse, was being built between 1894 and 1907. At the beginning business and economics courses were taking place there. Before the World War 2, it was the seat of Warsaw Industrial Bank and Częstochowa Savings and Loans Bank.
  Kohn's House is a neo-classicist townhouse, built in 1865. Before the war, a number of enterprises were operating in the building, including Bankers, Jackowski's Restaurant and Cafe, and Bata's Shoe Shop and between 1909 and 1930 a cinema called "Odeon".
  Polish Bank's Townhouse is an art nouveau townhouse, built in 1904. In the beginning, it was the seat of a local branch of the Russian State Bank. In 1927, the building was taken over by the Polish Bank Inc. After World War II, it became the property of the Polish National Bank. In 1990, the building was sold to the ING Silesian Bank.
  Biegański's House is a one-storey classicist townhouse built in 1880. Initially, it was owned by Karol Henryk Rosenfeld and later by his son-in-law dr. Władysław Biegański. After the Second World War, the building was a seat of the Częstochowa's Doctors Association.
  Hantke's Palace is an example of Baroque Revival architecture, built to the order of an industrialist and entrepreneur Bernard Hantke, who established the ISD Częstochowa Steel Mill. The palace was built between 1900 and 1903. After WW2, the building was the seat of the Częstochowa Steel Mill Culture Centre.
  Former Orthodox Vicarage – classicist townhouse, built in 1875, until 1918 it was the seat of a local Orthodox priest. In 1918, it was taken over by the local Catholic diocese. After the war, there was a local headquarters of the Polish Army. Since the 1970s it has been a property of the Częstochowa Regional Museum.
  Old Square – a square located in the Old Town district with dimensions of 100m by 66m. Since medieval times it operated as the main square of Old Częstochowa. There are still preserved old townhouses, which are listed on the historic monuments register. Between the 15th century and 1812, a town hall was located there, which was then damaged because of a fire. In 2007, archaeological works began. As a result, a city well was found and also fundaments of city facilities such as a weigh house and gallows.
  Wieluńska Street – one of the historic streets in Częstochowa, located in the vicinity of Jasna Góra monastery. It is 300 meters long and the buildings on the street were erected in t
caption: Franke's House
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